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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Looking for a gaming laptop

HP Omen is the same price here (with the same specs) except you get half the SSD size, 128MB, and only 3 usb ports instead of 4. The Predator was on sale though, regularly the HP Omen is 200 less. The Pavilion is CAD 450 less, yet also has half the ram and a 1050, did not meet my specs.

I have 90 GB free on the 256 GB SSD (or rather 237 GB) and all that's on there is Windows (including the data directories I set to D:) Ori and the blind forest and Forza Horizon 4 (70 GB!)

Anyone know where windows actually puts games? When I check on C: it only adds up to 42GB what's on there. Where is the rest hiding.



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SvennoJ said:
HP Omen is the same price here (with the same specs) except you get half the SSD size, 128MB, and only 3 usb ports instead of 4. The Predator was on sale though, regularly the HP Omen is 200 less. The Pavilion is CAD 450 less, yet also has half the ram and a 1050, did not meet my specs.

I have 90 GB free on the 256 GB SSD (or rather 237 GB) and all that's on there is Windows (including the data directories I set to D:) Ori and the blind forest and Forza Horizon 4 (70 GB!)

Anyone know where windows actually puts games? When I check on C: it only adds up to 42GB what's on there. Where is the rest hiding.

Usually on drive C: in a folder called WindowsApp

Its access is locked by Microsoft and therefore the files in it don't get counted.

You can change the default storage location for Windos Store content to another drive via Settings -> System -> Storage -> New Apps

(there you can also change the default folders for new docs, music, videos...)

P.S.: Forza Horizon 4 is a great choice, I love that game. After I got 4 months access to that game for €3 in total (GamePass trial + promotions), today I bought the Fortune Island DLC to support them a bit.



EricHiggin said:

XB1X apparently has 1070 levels of performance, give or take.

Probably closer to the RX 580/590.

Notebook variants tend to be a little slower.

EricHiggin said:

Also depends on how long you want it to be future proof. I'd say the best price to performance ratio out of those options would be the $1699.99 Acer Predator. It would be somewhat future proof based on the GPU. A laptop with similar specs to it, with a 1070 or 1080, would last that much longer.

Should remain "current" for a long time, especially as most notebook displays are only 1080P resolution or less.

SvennoJ said:

That's always the question, will it last another 5 years or am I better of replacing more often with cheaper laptops. Ever since I had a laptop that had continuous memory problems I've been on the safe side with memory, hence the 16 gb in the one I use currently. My current cpu is a I7-4700MQ 2.4 ghz (4 cores) I assume that's the max as it's averaging 1 ghz atm. One thing I need to see in store first is how the keyboard feels.

I personally opt for cheaper/lower-end notebooks and just upgrade more often, then you get newer technologies sooner... Plus things like batteries loose their maximum capacity fairly quickly, so it's always nice getting an upgrade on battery life.

You can usually get some coin back on the older notebook too if it's in good condition to help pay for the new one, it's a more difficult proposition to sell a notebook that is falling apart.

Current notebook is a Ryzen 2700u and will probably upgrade to the 4700u when that comes out. (As the 3700u is going to be a marginal upgrade at best.)

Probably helps I have high-end desktops, so I don't need desktop-replacement levels of GPU/CPU power for my notebook anyway.

EricHiggin said:

I verified after and found a few posts elsewhere on the net that said CPU-Z would show 6144MB for a 6GB GPU so that's all good then. PC data conversion sucks but seems like you got the point anyway.

i7-8750H is 6C/12T, and has a 2.2GHz base and 4.1GHz max boost. It has a 45w TDP, 100C max, so 95C is getting up there in temps. Mobile is designed to deal with the extra heat so nothing to worry about unless it ever actually starts overheating and shutting down. GPU at 72C ain't all that bad really. Hot, but still under 80C-90C, so less of a worry than the CPU. If the fans are running at reasonable speeds, then most of the heat should be getting vented directly out of the casing. It would still get hot inside, but the overall hardware shouldn't see temps anywhere near that.

At 95C you really wouldn't want to try and OC the CPU anyway. As for the GPU, you probably could a little bit but it seems like it's giving you more than you required at the moment and the more you push it, the more heat it will produce and the fan will get even louder. Plus it probably won't take much of a push for temps to rise 'exponentially'. This is a reason why it's not a bad idea to go a little overboard on the CPU and/or GPU in a laptop if you can because of the excess heat from gaming, if you can restrain yourself from just cranking it up and maxing it out regardless. It also allows for lower fan speeds and less noise, but comes at a cost. Gaming laptops are all about trade offs.

You will get thermal throttling before any damage is incurred anyway... 95'C is probably hitting that limit.
What kind of Thermal Imaging Camera are you using? The one I have is $3,000... I have access to a dozen of them across the road at the station too.  Haha

In saying that, TDP is probably the biggest limiter... It's one reason why the Ryzen 2500u will beat the 2700u in some gaming benchmarks, less functional units means it can dump more TDP into clockrates.
If I could undervolt, I bloody would.

In-fact the last notebook that I could get the PLL chip code for was a Pentium M Dothan that would let me overclock from 1.6Ghz to 2.4ghz and double the clock on the Mobility Radeon 9700 Pro, actually was a game changer for it's gaming performance, not so much on battery life though.



--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--

Conina said:
SvennoJ said:
HP Omen is the same price here (with the same specs) except you get half the SSD size, 128MB, and only 3 usb ports instead of 4. The Predator was on sale though, regularly the HP Omen is 200 less. The Pavilion is CAD 450 less, yet also has half the ram and a 1050, did not meet my specs.

I have 90 GB free on the 256 GB SSD (or rather 237 GB) and all that's on there is Windows (including the data directories I set to D:) Ori and the blind forest and Forza Horizon 4 (70 GB!)

Anyone know where windows actually puts games? When I check on C: it only adds up to 42GB what's on there. Where is the rest hiding.

Usually on drive C: in a folder called WindowsApp

Its access is locked by Microsoft and therefore the files in it don't get counted.

You can change the default storage location for Windos Store content to another drive via Settings -> System -> Storage -> New Apps

(there you can also change the default folders for new docs, music, videos...)

P.S.: Forza Horizon 4 is a great choice, I love that game. After I got 4 months access to that game for €3 in total (GamePass trial + promotions), today I bought the Fortune Island DLC to support them a bit.

Ah, I changed the place where documents etc is changed by going into properties of those folders, location tab and selecting move. However in settings -> system ->Storage it still says they are all on C: drive. Windows is such a mash up of 2 halves, pc stuff and tablet apps.

The store asked where to install FH4 to anyway. I'll set it all default to d: drive, just in case.

I can't find WindowsApp folder. I guess the times of knowing what's on your pc are past.

Good old trusty Total Commander isn't up to windows 10 :/

I'll turn the pagefile off, no need for that with 16 GB of ram, just wasting time. I assume hiberfil is where the memory goes when it goes into hibernation. Argh, that can't be moved to another drive, stupid. So wasteful! I guess I can turn hibernation off when I really need those extra 7GB on the SSD.

Now my last question (probably not) where the heck do I find the list of gamepass games on the windows store.

Ah I found a way. In Downloads and updates there's a gamepass tab. Not much for PC (yet) was hoping shadow of the TR was included, only for xbox apparently. Gears of war 4 and Crackdown 3 seem to be the best there is (after FH4)

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 26 February 2019

SvennoJ said:

Now my last question (probably not) where the heck do I find the list of gamepass games on the windows store.

You can filter the store for GamePass games: https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/store/top-paid/games/pc?IsGamePass=true

Unfortunately that also includes not only the free games but also the discounted games.

The free ones are tagged with "included in GamePass" and they are Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4 Standard, State of Decay 2, Halo Wars, Zoo Tycoon, ARK Survival Evolved, Halo Wars 2, Rush, Disneyland Adventures, Hello Neighbor, Super Lucky's Tale, ReCore, Ruiner, Snake Pass and We Happy Few.



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Conina said:
SvennoJ said:

Now my last question (probably not) where the heck do I find the list of gamepass games on the windows store.

You can filter the store for GamePass games: https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/store/top-paid/games/pc?IsGamePass=true

Unfortunately that also includes not only the free games but also the discounted games.

The free ones are tagged with "included in GamePass" and they are Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4 Standard, State of Decay 2, Halo Wars, Zoo Tycoon, ARK Survival Evolved, Halo Wars 2, Rush, Disneyland Adventures, Hello Neighbor, Super Lucky's Tale, ReCore, Ruiner, Snake Pass and We Happy Few.

Odd, no Crackdown 3 in Germany? Looks like it is included here, has the big shiny install button.
Gears of war 4 also has the install button, not just discounted.


Ugh, FH4 was suddenly uncontrollable again with the 360 controller. Turns out you can't even have a DS4 connected for charging without it screwing up the game. Unplug the DS4 and the game works again. What did the DS4 do to Turn 10 they hate it so much lol.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 26 February 2019

Pemalite said:
EricHiggin said:

XB1X apparently has 1070 levels of performance, give or take.

Probably closer to the RX 580/590.

Notebook variants tend to be a little slower.

Specs wise maybe but with the lesser overhead it would make sense the XB API should allow for 1070 like levels of performance.

True, and the Max-Q versions even more so.

Pemalite said:

EricHiggin said: 

Also depends on how long you want it to be future proof. I'd say the best price to performance ratio out of those options would be the $1699.99 Acer Predator. It would be somewhat future proof based on the GPU. A laptop with similar specs to it, with a 1070 or 1080, would last that much longer.

Should remain "current" for a long time, especially as most notebook displays are only 1080P resolution or less.

It'll have all the latest and greatest, but over time a beefier GPU would allow you to keep your settings cranked, where as otherwise, over time, you will be forced to scale down. A 1070 or 1080 could be looked at as higher res now, or consistent res and higher settings in the future.

Pemalite said:

EricHiggin said: 

At 95C you really wouldn't want to try and OC the CPU anyway. As for the GPU, you probably could a little bit but it seems like it's giving you more than you required at the moment and the more you push it, the more heat it will produce and the fan will get even louder. Plus it probably won't take much of a push for temps to rise 'exponentially'. This is a reason why it's not a bad idea to go a little overboard on the CPU and/or GPU in a laptop if you can because of the excess heat from gaming, if you can restrain yourself from just cranking it up and maxing it out regardless. It also allows for lower fan speeds and less noise, but comes at a cost. Gaming laptops are all about trade offs.

You will get thermal throttling before any damage is incurred anyway... 95'C is probably hitting that limit.
What kind of Thermal Imaging Camera are you using? The one I have is $3,000... I have access to a dozen of them across the road at the station too.  Haha

Good point.

Just copy pasted pics. There was a $5000 (CAD) Fluke at my old work for electrical distribution inspections. Only got to use it a couple times.



Yeah, Crackdown 3 and GOW4, too.

 

Conina said:

SvennoJ said:

Anyone know where windows actually puts games? When I check on C: it only adds up to 42GB what's on there. Where is the rest hiding.

Usually on drive C: in a folder called WindowsApp

Its access is locked by Microsoft and therefore the files in it don't get counted.

About the locked WindowsApp folder: mine is on my F: drive and its content is currently around 670 GB (difference between used storage and the size of all visible files on that drive).

On my other drives the "used storage" is almost the same as the cumulative size of the files.



Am I seeing that right, a 11.1 TB drive? That's a lot of 4K porn!

Forza Horizon 4 is exhausting, time for a break. Every event I do, 3 new ones pop up! Openworld icon clutter to the max. With all that clutter I still have no idea where or if I can buy new cars. It let me upgrade my current car once, haven't been able to find where anymore. So I've just been racing in my original car so far, entered winter before I quit.